#dissident y/n

[lynaferns]

The God AU that took me more time to draw than I anticipated.

The size of the Gods isn't exact like in the third image. Gods can be whatever size and shape they want.

I decided to make y/n's runes show a bit under their clothes. I would have liked to make a reference of all the runes and how they cover the body but I got tired, I wanted to finish this and I didn't come up with an alphabet yet.

Some info I brainstormed back in July <- especially about the Dissident.

As always with these type of AUs I come up with, I have the concept of a story but I don't really know where to begin talking about it.

I really like how the lineart looks without color :]

[justagalwhowrites]

Lavender - Ch. 20

Life in the QZ gets worse and you're called outside the walls again. A continuation of Lavender Ch. 1-19 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader (broken up), Tommy Miller x Reader

Warnings: Mild smut, talk of extreme police action, description of injuries. No use of Y/N. Minors, DNI 18+ only

Length: 6.5k

Saturday, June 11, 2011 - One Year Later 

“I can only keep them off your back so long,” Elias was all but stalking you into an operating room as you made sure your hair was tucked below your scrub cap. “At some point…” 

“I’m not asking for you to keep them off my back,” you said, pausing at the door to go scrub in. “Don’t need to lie, don’t need make up an excuse. Tell them I think they’re fascists and that I’m not going to prop up their dystopian police state.” 

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. 

“They’re going to do it with or without you there,” he said. “This isn’t the hill you want to die on…” 

“I think it’s exactly the hill to fucking die on, actually,” you snapped. 

“And if they decide to execute you, too?” He demanded. “What then?” 

“Sounds like you’ll need to find someone to fill in for me on Saturdays,” you shrugged. He glared at you. “Can I go do this hernia repair now or are you going to keep trying to get me to be a tool in the continued downfall of humanity?” 

“Sometimes we can’t solve everything ourselves,” he said. “Sometimes we have to go along with awful things because we can do more good if we survive it.” 

You sighed. 

“They don’t know shit about medicine, right?” You said. He nodded once. “Great. Tell them you really just can’t spare me because I’m the only one who can do some stupid common surgical procedure so you need me here when I’m on duty. Because it’s just raining appendicitis here in the QZ. I imagine that will satisfy them and they can figure out how to check the pulse of someone they’ve hanged themselves without dragging me into it…” 

“Might work,” he sighed. 

“None of us should be a part of this,” you said. “Not just me. None of us should. It goes against our oath and even if it didn’t, it’s cruel and wrong.” 

“I agree,” he said. “But imagine how many people would die if they executed the entire clinic for insubordination. Oaths are complicated things. Sometimes, we have to look beyond just ourselves and consider what’s best for the whole.” 

“What’s best for the whole is FEDRA not executing people who have broken curfew one too many times because suddenly they’re dissidents,” you replied and then you sighed. “I do need to actually operate, I’ve got another hernia repair after this one… I’m sorry you’re stuck dealing with this shit. If you can keep me out of it while letting me keep my head, I’d appreciate it.” 

“Just… try not to call any of the guards fascist to their face, alright?” He said. “I’d rather you not end up shot in the street.” 

“I’ll do my best.” 

You went in to scrub and ground your teeth. Things had been steadily going down hill with FEDRA for the last six months. 

Patrols had increased drastically. They instituted a curfew about 10 months back that people didn’t take seriously at first - especially not the speakeasy crowd. Being home by midnight seemed outrageous. 

Then the executions started. 

They waited a few months before they started killing people. Gave people citations. Warned them that they’d be seen as conspirators with the Fireflies, the militarized resistance to FEDRA. From what you’d heard on your regular visits to the radio - you were still hoping against hope to find Cassie one day, though you were far less certain of her survival than you’d ever been of Joel and Tommy’s - that the fireflies were gaining strength across all the other QZs. People were angry that things weren’t getting better. You didn’t blame them. 

The first sign you had that you, specifically, needed to worry about getting roped in was when Andrew showed up to your apartment one evening, looking distraught. 

“Hey,” you frowned, pulling him inside. You led him to your couch and he sat down, almost in a daze. “What’s going on?” 

“Guards just came by, they took Jess, said they needed her, they’re doing something outside the walls, I don’t know what they need her for out there, it doesn’t make sense,” his voice cracked. “I don’t know what they need her for, what if something happens? She’s never been out there, she’s from Boston, she came right here, what if…” 

You pulled him into a hug, his arms going around your waist, his head buried in your stomach and he let out a choking sob. 

“It’s OK,” you ran your fingers through his hair. “It’ll be OK, they’ll look out for her. She’s going to be OK.” 

He spent the night that night, you sandwiched between him and Tommy (“This is weird, right?” Tommy said. “I mean, I’m fine with it, I just want to know that I’m not crazy.” “It’s weird,” you and Andrew said together.) Jess came back the next day, shaken but otherwise OK. It was the first of numerous trips for her outside the walls of the QZ. They were trying to use her to justify increased militarized presence through psychology, how that would help keep raiders under control. They were trying to prove their own worth. It was only a matter of time before they started roping in medical staff and teachers, too. 

Meanwhile, the Fireflies were getting more outspoken, more vocal and more violent. The tighter FEDRA seemed to squeeze, the more people wanted to back the Fireflies. It was so incredibly stupid on FEDRA’s part it took all you had to not walk off both your jobs. The only thing that kept you going was the fact that it was the best way you could help people. There were no schools or clinics that weren’t run by FEDRA. If you wanted to teach, if you wanted to heal, there were no other options. 

And you could use your connections to keep Tommy, Joel and Tess safe. 

They were still making their smuggling runs. You tried talking Tommy out of it every time he was about to leave for another one, all but begging him to stay with you instead of going out again.

“What, and leave Tess and Joel without all my skills to back them up?” He kissed your forehead. “C’mon. I’m basically the only reason they’re still alive, Sweetheart. Can’t let them go it alone.” 

So you kept them stocked in trauma supplies, stealing things from work with even greater regularity. Tommy kept showing up at your door battered and bruised. You’d taken to keeping a suture kit at your house, regularly needing to stitch his wounds closed. 

“I really fucking hate this,” you said one night, stitching a knife wound to his shoulder closed as you sat behind him on your bed. 

“Sweetheart,” he sighed. 

“No, I mean it,” you said. “I really hate it. I really hate seeing you hurt, I really hate patching you up, I really hate that you feel like you have to do this. I really fucking hate it, Tommy, and I wish you’d stop going out there.” 

You tied off the suture and got the kit cleaned up, stashing what was unused and still sterile back in your abused at home supply kit. 

“Hey,” he took your hand and pulled you between his legs, looking up at you. “I’m not goin’ out there for nothing…” 

“You’re going out there for ration cards,” you snapped. “Which is damn near nothing.” 

“Goin’ out there for shit we can’t get here,” he said, untying your robe and unwrapping you slowly, like you were a gift. He pressed his lips to your bare stomach, kissing up your body to your breastbone. “Some of it is important shit. And I have to try to keep Joel and Tess safe. I’m not tryin’ to get hurt, I’m really not tryin’ to hurt you. I’m doing it because it’s important and it’s the only damn way I got to do something important in this fuckin’ place.” 

“You’re important to me,” you said quietly, running your fingers through his hair. “Be important that way.”

“And you’re important to me,” he kissed your chest again. “But would you listen if I asked you to stop working at the clinic?” 

“I’m not risking my life at the clinic.” 

“You’ve got your brain to offer,” he half smiled up at you. “I’m a soldier. All I’ve got’s my body, so I’m usin’ it.” He tugged you closer. “Hopin’ you’ll let me.” 

You sighed, straddling him, kissing him, your arms draped carefully over his shoulders so as to not disturb his fresh sutures. 

“Really don’t encourage a lot of physical activity so soon after a medical procedure,” you said as he slid your robe to the floor and trailed his lips down your throat. “Should probably make you wait…” 

“Swear to God I’ll lose my mind if you don’t let me inside you,” he growled and you laughed. He took the opportunity to pick you up and lay you down with a surprised shriek. 

“And you really shouldn’t be doing that,” you said between kisses. “You’re going to rip your stitches out!” 

“Worth it.” 

He quickly pulled off his pants and thrust into you, making you gasp and moan. “Fuck, Sweetheart, Goddamn,” he groaned. “How do you always feel this fuckin’ good?” 

You ground your hips into him and he pressed his lips to the hollow of your throat with a delicious moan, starting to work himself in and out of you. He knew just how you liked to be fucked now, knew all the places inside you to find, how to work your clit, touch your skin, suck your nipples into his mouth. He pulled you tight and close to him as his pace increased and your orgasm built and you fell apart together, gasping for breath as he lay on top of you. You lifted your head just enough to see his sutures before collapsing back down into bed. 

“You got fucking lucky, Miller,” you panted. “Because I’d never fuck you again if you made me redo those stitches.” 

“I’d seduce you eventually,” he said, kissing your shoulder and sliding out of you. You rolled your eyes. “Only took me 10 years the first time…” 

Your relationship with Tommy had been one of the few, surprising bright spots in the last year. It was oddly easy, being with him. There wasn’t much about him that wasn’t easy. He was sweet, he was fun. It was what you’d imagined a relationship to be like in college before you’d started dating Joel. With Joel, it had been heady and intense from the beginning. You’d been head over heels for him from the start. There was no other option, it was all in or nothing and nothing didn’t feel like it was on the table. 

Tommy was the opposite. But that was, in part, because you couldn’t seem to actually fall for him. Even when you tried. Even when you focused on it. 

It didn’t seem to matter what he did. He took you dancing at the Speakeasy. He brought you bottles of wine from outside the QZ. He got you a small TV/VCR combo from the underground market and a copy of You’ve Got Mail on VHS. You were almost giddy with it while trying to tell him it was way too much. 

“Nah, I had to,” he smiled. “Found the tape when we were outside, knew how much you loved that movie. Then I just had to make sure you could actually watch the damn thing.” 

Tommy was probably a damn near perfect boyfriend. He just… wasn’t Joel. 

It didn’t matter that you hadn’t seen him - not even in passing - since the conversation near the clinic. Tommy always came to your place. You always dealt with him or Tess when it came to resupplying their medical stash. He had done a thorough job of making sure you never saw each other. 

And it didn’t make a damn difference. 

There was a second every morning Tommy spent the night where you thought you were waking up next to his brother. It was one moment - a sweet, if brief, moment - where everything felt right. It was one of your favorite moments of the day, the second there your mind tricked yourself that you were still with the person you loved most. And then came the letdown followed by the shame of it. 

“What the fuck is my problem?” You asked Andrew one afternoon as you worked in your lab. “Why can’t I get the fuck over him? Tommy… he’s basically perfect, why can’t I just love him? Why do I have to want the person who doesn’t want me back? And at what point do I fucking tell Tommy ‘hey, I know you’ve basically done nothing but be the best boyfriend a girl could ask for for the past almost year but I’m still in love with your brother who, as it happens, is kind of a dick.’”

“The heart wants what the heart wants, I guess,” Andrew shrugged. “I can’t imagine loving anyone but Jess. You could drop Halle Berry in front of me, make her love all the same shit I do and I’d still want Jess. Just how it works sometimes.” 

“This is such a fucking mess,” you groaned. 

“He said he understood what he was getting into,” he shrugged again. “So, if I were you, I’d keep it to myself until he drops the L-word on you. Then you’ll have to come clean. But, until then, I think you’re in the clear.” 

“Why am I this stupid?” You asked. “Seriously. I’m not this stupid with anything else, how was I this fucking stupid?” 

“Eh, you’re pretty stupid with at least some other things,” he said. You glared at him. “You are an absolute shit partner to have in bridge. You cannot strategize for shit, you are really stupid at bridge.”  

“Thank you,” you said sarcastically. “That makes me feel so much better.” 

“Always happy to be of service.” 

It had been a few months that you’d known, for a fact, that you couldn’t fall in love with Tommy. It didn’t matter how hard you tried, how much you wanted to, it wasn’t going to happen. You still weren’t sure what to do about it. 

You thought about it more when he wasn’t around. So you were thankful, that Saturday, to have surgeries to attend to. Tommy, Joel and Tess were outside the QZ yet again. Not only were you always worried the whole time they were gone, your brain went into overdrive trying to figure out what to do about the Tommy situation. Surgery was a pleasant distraction. 

It was late when you finally finished everything on the docket that day. The sun had set and you felt like you were ready to fall asleep standing up. 

“Want to come over later?” Andrew asked as you leaned against the front desk. “Feel like you might need the distraction.” 

“Yeah…” you sighed, looking out at the empty waiting room. “Probably a good idea…” 

The bell on the front door rang and you instinctively looked. Tess ran in, eyes wide, blood dripping from her shoulder. 

“Fuck,” you swore. You were running before you even really knew you were running, grabbing one of the clinic’s go bags. 

“Andrew,” you said as you went for the door. “Keep an OR ready for me, do NOT shut down until I get back, understand? See if you can get someone else to stay, please…” 

“I’ve got it,” he said. “Go!”

Tess led the way to the hole in the fence. 

“What happened?” You asked, the two of you walking as quickly as you could without drawing the attention of anyone patrolling. 

“We got pinned down, about a mile outside the QZ,” she said. “We took everyone out eventually but Tommy and Joel…” 

“Tess,” your voice cracked. 

“They were alive when I left,” she said. 

“Fuck!” 

You slipped out of the fence, past the search lights and the debris field, and you ran. 

You’d never been an athlete. You liked hiking and swimming and walking and were in fine shape but you’d never been a runner. That didn’t seem to matter then. 

You raced toward where Tess pointed you, her falling back. You started watching for the bodies that would be around wherever they’d stashed themselves, the telltale signs of the showdown Tess mentioned. 

When you spotted it, you practically tore into the small storefront, yanking a flashlight out of your pocket. It didn’t take you long to find Joel and Tommy. 

“Hey Sweetheart,” Tommy smiled a little at you. He was breathing heavily, his gun lying across his lap. Tess ran in behind you. 

“Hey, you idiot,” you smiled a little back. Joel was silent on the ground. “I need to evaluate you both and figure this out, try to stay conscious for me, OK?” 

“Anything for you,” he said, wincing a little. 

You took off your backpack and put your flashlight in your teeth, looking Joel over first. He was unconscious but he had a pulse and was breathing. Good signs, even though his breath was shallow. There was a penetrating chest wound and a compound fracture just above his left knee. 

“Jesus Christ, what the fuck did you guys get up to?” You asked, pulling out your stethoscope. “Do you know how fucking hard it is to break your femur?” 

“Had to jump off a roof,” Tommy winced. “Think I just sprained an ankle, Joel landed wrong…” 

“Wrong is a fucking understatement,” you muttered, checking his heart rate and his breathing. “Think he’s stable for the moment…” 

You moved to Tommy. 

“Why do I feel like we’re gonna be in a fight after this?” He asked. 

“Because we are,” you said. “Show me what’s wrong.” 

“Got shot,” he angled his leg with a groan so you could see the wound. It was to the thigh but had missed the major arteries, so not terrible. “Sprained the ankle…” 

“Tess,” you said. “I’m going to need…” 

There was a sudden gasping sound from behind you and you spun. Joel was still unconscious but he was struggling to breathe. 

“Doc!” Tess ran to him. 

“Move!” You ordered, rushing over and thrusting the stethoscope into your ears. You pressed it to his chest and listened. “Fucking hell…” 

You yanked your bag to your side and started ripping through it. 

“What?” Tess sounded panicked. “What is it?” 

“He had a fucking pneumothorax that I missed and it just changed to a tension pneumothorax,” you said, thrusting the flashlight to Tess. She took it, shining the light down at the bag. You found a scalpel and some tubing. 

“What’s that?” She asked. “What does that mean?” 

“It means there’s air in his chest that’s trapped and making it so his lung can’t inflate and I need to get it out or he’s going to fucking die,” you snapped, ripping his shirt open, sending buttons flying and pointing to a spot on his rib cage. You cut off a short length of tube. “Light here.” 

She obeyed and you made the cut, thrusting the tubing in to hold the incision open so the air could escape. He took a deep, shuddering breath and you relaxed. 

“Thank fuck for that,” you sighed, really looking at his face for the first time. 

You had to fight the urge to touch him. He was still so fucking beautiful it made your heart ache. Seeing him again was like getting hit by the train. All this time, you’d thought you’d just been holding steady, that you just kept loving him the same way you always had. 

You hadn’t. It had become a dull roar. It hung on the edges of everything but you could forget about it sometimes, when he wasn’t there to remind you. But the second you saw him, it was all consuming. You felt it in your skin, your chest, your marrow. Loving him was built into you like any other vital thing, there was no excising it. You could quiet it, avoid it but it would never cease to exist. Not for you. 

“Tess,” you said after a second. “Hold pressure on the lower chest wound, leave the one I just made the fuck alone.” 

You went to Tommy and started looking at his gunshot wound. 

“How are you feeling?” You asked. “Lightheaded?” 

“Nothin’ I can’t handle, Sweetheart,” he smiled a little. “Just having a hard time walking is all…” 

“Yeah, that’s going to be the sticking point here,” you glanced to Tess.

“What?” She asked. 

“You and I are going to have to do some heavy lifting,” you said. 

“I can do that,” she nodded. “I can do that.” 

You grabbed some gauze and a brace from your bag, wrapping Tommy’s gunshot wound and giving him some ankle support before you looked him in the eye. 

“Alright Miller,” you said. “Time to boot and rally, you were in the army, you can do this. You’re going to go with Tess to the fence and head for the clinic. Andrew is waiting for you guys.” 

“What about you?” He asked. 

“I’m going to wake up Joel and I’m taking him to the main gate,” you said, getting to your feet and offering Tommy your hand. 

“That’s a fucking death sentence, you can’t go to the main gate!” Tess gaped up at you. 

“We can’t get him through the fence,” you said. “There’s no way in hell, not with a compound fracture, an open chest wound and a pneumo. Main gate might be a death sentence for you but I can get us in. It’ll be tricky but I can get us in.” 

“That’s too big a risk,” Tommy said, taking your hand. You pulled him to his feet and slung his arm over your shoulder. “You can’t…” 

“I can’t just leave him out here,” you looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “I need to get him to the clinic before shit gets worse and that’s the only way…”

He cupped your face, looking in your eyes and you knew he saw it. What you felt. Why you couldn’t leave Joel behind. Not now, not ever. 

“It’s gonna get you killed, Sweetheart,” he said softly. 

“Don’t have a choice,” you smiled sadly. He pressed his lips to your forehead. 

“Tess?” You said, still looking at Tommy. She came alongside you and you held up his arm. She stepped into place. “Straight to the clinic, OK?” 

“You sure you’ve got Joel from here?” She asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Get yourselves out of here, we’ll be right behind. The clinic. Andrew’s staying there, he’ll help you.” 

She nodded and they left you there with Joel on the ground. 

You ran to his side, checking his breathing. Still solid. 

“Well at least there’s that,” you muttered to yourself. You quickly bandaged the wound at his chest. Looking closer, you were pretty sure it was a stab wound and not a bullet hole. You tried to keep it so it wouldn’t be jostled and have him start bleeding out. You moved onto the leg. 

You were going to need to at least partially set it, there’s no way you could carry him and he couldn’t put any weight on it the way it was now. It was just going to hurt like a bitch. Which is part of why you’d sent Tess and Tommy along. This part was not going to be pretty and there was a good chance he was going to scream loud enough to attract every clicker and raider in a five mile radius. 

“OK Miller,” you grabbed the length of tubing you hadn’t used to open his chest and put it between his teeth, making him bite down on it. “You can do this, you can get through this you stubborn asshole, you’re going to be fine, hear me? I will never forgive you if you’re not fine so you’re going to be fucking fine…” 

You grabbed the stuff to make a splint from your bag and set it up around his injured leg before you put one knee on his hip, hoping to help hold him still. 

“Here we go,” you took a deep breath. “One, two, three…” 

You winced as you started pushing his bone back into alignment. He gasped and flung his hand out, catching you in the side. 

“It’s me!” You said quickly, pushing the bone back into place. He groaned, the sound choking and gasping. “Bite down on the tube, I’m setting your leg enough that you can put weight on it, I know it hurts, I’m almost done just stick with me…” 

The bone disappeared below the skin and you stopped pushing. Joel went slack, panting for breath. You grabbed gauze and quickly bound the point where the break had come through the skin before setting the splint. 

“You still with me over there, Miller?” You asked, not able bring yourself to look over at him, afraid of what you might see. 

“Still here,” he was panting for breath. 

“Good,” you said, sitting back on your heels for a moment, out of breath yourself. You looked over at him. 

He was watching you, a soft look on his face. Your heart swelled with it.

“Hey Kid,” he said quietly. 

“Hey,” you half smiled at him. 

“Tess and Tommy?” He asked. 

“Headed for the QZ,” you said. “Sent them on ahead because they’re taking a different route in than us.” 

“What route are we taking?” He frowned. 

“Main gate,” you said, starting to pack up your supplies. 

“No,” he shook his head. “No, we can’t…” 

“You can’t without me,” you cut him off. “But I can. And you can’t get under the fence right now, Joel, not with your leg like that coupled with the fact that you’ve got a penetrating chest wound and I had to give you an incision to relieve a tension pneumothorax.” 

“Then you’re leavin’ me out here,” he started trying to prop himself up on his elbows and you went to help him. “Not riskin’ you bringing me in through the main gate…” 

“Shut the fuck up, Miller,” you said, helping him sit up all the way. He glared at you. 

“Always knew there was a risk of not comin’ back, Kid,” he said. His eyes kept ranging over your face. 

“You don’t get to just die on me out here,” you snapped. “We’re not doing that, got it? I didn’t come all the way out here to save your ass just to have you die on me so we’re going to the main fucking gate.” 

You stood up and put on the pack before offering him your hand. He glared at you. 

“I swear to God Joel if you don’t I will go to the main gate myself and make them come get you in a patrol truck,” you snapped. “Guessing this is a smuggling hide out for you, I will bring them here, I don’t give a shit.” 

“You’re the most stubborn damn woman I’ve ever met,” he muttered, taking your hand.

“Put as much weight as you can on the good leg,” you ordered. He glared at you. “What, you’re saying dumb shit like I should just leave you out here to die so I have to state the obvious. Ready?” He nodded once. “Alright, one, two, three.” 

You pulled and he hissed in pain as you helped him up. He almost collapsed and you caught him with your shoulder tucked into his armpit. 

“See?” You said as he panted for breath. “We’ve got this.” 

It didn’t take long for you and Joel to fall into a rhythm that kept his pain from getting worse as you walked. It was slow going but you made steady progress. 

“Why’d you do this?” He managed after you’d walked half a mile. 

“What do you mean?” You frowned. 

“Come out here,” he said. His breaths came in short, gasping pants. “Save me. Why?” 

You were quiet for a moment.

“You know why,” you said eventually. 

He ground his teeth. 

“We’re not good for each other,” he said. 

“I know.” 

“Told you I didn’t want to see you.” 

“Trust me, I remember.” 

“You’re with Tommy.” 

“I know.” 

He growled. The searchlights of the QZ perimeter were getting close. 

“When we get up there, let me do the talking,” you said. “Keep your mouth fucking shut. I’m going to get us through this in one piece but you have to do what I say for a change, got it?” 

He just grunted in affirmation. 

The guards spotted you quickly. It wasn’t like you were trying to hide. 

“Hands up!” Their guns were drawn. You raised the hand you could. “I fucking said hands up!” 

“Can’t put them all up, I have an injured man with me,” you called back. “I’m a doctor at the clinic, I got word of an injured person outside the fence, I’m bringing him in for treatment…” 

The voice shifted. 

“Doc? That you?” 

You squinted against the searchlight as the guard came closer. You smiled a little. 

“Hi Tim,” you said. You’d known there was a good chance one of your former students would be at the gate. It was just luck that it was one who remembered you fondly. He lowered his gun. 

“What are you doing out here?” He asked, coming over and taking Joel’s other side. Joel just gaped at you. 

“Helping the injured,” you jerked your head in Joel’s direction. “That whole hippocratic oath thing, I couldn’t just ignore it once I knew about it. I was hoping you could let us in here.” 

“Doc, you left the QZ…” he said quietly. 

“I know,” you said. “And I don’t want to compromise you or your job in any way. But I had to do my job, too. If you need to write me up or take me into custody you can, but I need to get this man to the clinic first…” 

He looked Joel over. 

“You’ll make sure he does intake?” He asked.

“Of course,” you replied. He pulled out a scanner and took a sample from each of you. The screen glowed green. His jaw twitched. 

“Alright,” he said. “But we have to move quick and you never saw me, OK?” 

“Thank you,” you said, moving as quickly as Joel would allow. Your heart was in your throat until you were through the gate. 

“Get to the clinic by curfew,” Tim said. “You’ve only got 20 minutes.” 

*** 

Joel wasn’t sure what hurt more, his leg, his chest or seeing you. 

He’d managed to avoid you for a year. A whole year of not seeing your face, the longest he’d gone since he’d come to the QZ. He hated every goddamn second of it. 

It was the right thing to do, though, trying to let you go. He kept fucking failing you and he’d keep fucking failing you the more he was around you. And being around you hurt. 

He wasn’t sure it would be better or worse if you were his. Everything he’d lost was all tied up in you. The life he’d been inches away from having wound around your limbs and lips and hair. He didn’t think he could just be next to you and know that. But fuck, not seeing you… 

One of the hardest things he’d ever had to do was say goodbye to you that day on the street. But he couldn’t keep drowning you in his misery. As much as he’d hated Tommy for touching you, for picking you, he couldn’t hate him for pointing out the obvious. He’d been cruel to you. As much as he was angry, hurting, wanting to hate you, you didn’t deserve that. You deserved better than what he could give you. You were too much for him to take and he couldn’t seem to stop hurting you. It had to end. 

But he was relieved that he could gauge how you were doing by Tommy’s mood. He didn’t like much else about the fact that you were with him but when Tommy came home from seeing you in a good mood, he knew you were happy. If he were a little off, he knew you probably had a bad day at work. If he were irritable it meant you were upset about something. He didn’t dare ask what but he knew it was something. 

It was strange, knowing you existed in the world but not knowing much of anything about it. He clung to what he did know. Wished he didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to see you. Wished he didn’t want to look at you. 

But now you were close - so fucking close - and it hurt. Andrew helped you get him onto an exam table and he could barely hear what you were saying, giving him some kind of pill and making him breathe in some shit that made his head swim as you made him lie down. 

“Don’t want you workin’ on me,” he managed. You frowned. 

“Well I’m the only option you have, Miller, so suck it up,” you said, not looking up from your work at his side. 

“Don’t want to want to look at you,” he muttered. 

“Then don’t look at me,” you said, stitching up his side. 

“Can’t help it,” he mumbled. “Too fuckin’ pretty…” 

“Sounds like a personal problem, Miller,” you said. “Stop talking so much, you’re making it hard to sew.” 

“Sorry,” he said. “Just missed you.” 

You looked at him for a moment. 

“Missed you too.” 

You went back to sewing. He just watched you work, soaking up what he could of you. He didn’t know when he’d see you again. He wanted to hold onto this. 

He fell asleep watching you heal him. 

***

By the time you finished with Joel, you were exhausted. You were going to have to just sleep in an exam room, it was past curfew and you wouldn’t want to be far, anyway. But, for that moment, you just wanted to slump against the wall in the hall, not able to make yourself move any further. 

You slid to the floor, leaning your head back against the wall and taking a deep breath. Your legs and arms ached. You were pretty sure your abs would, too, in the morning after you hauled Joel all that way. 

Tess came out of an exam room and looked surprised to find you on the floor before siting next to you. 

“How is he?” She asked. 

“He’ll be fine,” you sighed. “Won’t be able to make any runs for at least two months while his femur heals, though.” 

She nodded slowly. 

“Can I ask you something?” She asked after a moment. 

“As long as it’s nothing philosophical,” you replied. “Brain is fried. Ask me how to do surgery, that I can do with my eyes closed.”

“What are you doing with them?” She asked, watching you. You frowned. “You’ve got Tommy wrapped around your finger. You’ll put your life on the line to save Joel. What are you doing with them?” 

“Nothing that I really have a say in,” you looked at her, too tired to try to dodge the question. “If I could stop… feeling the way I do, I would. I hate it, I hate what it’s done to me, what it’s done to him, what it’s doing to Tommy and I just… I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I want it to be over. 

“I keep thinking that loving people, that’s the reason we’re here. That’s what we’re supposed to do with life, we’re supposed to love people as much as we can for as long as we can but that doesn’t work anymore, does it? Maybe it did before all this happened. Maybe it didn’t and I was just too naive to know it but that’s what it felt like we were supposed to do. But I can’t keep loving him and I can’t just let this keep going with Tommy and I just….” Your voice cracked. You were too tired to try to fight off tears. 

Tess tugged you over so your head was on her shoulder. You blinked in surprise. 

“I was married before,” she said. “I told you that. I didn’t tell you that I had to shoot him, in the outbreak.” 

“Jesus…” you breathed. 

“Even knowing how it was going to end, I’m glad I had it while I did,” she said. “But I’m still too afraid to ever love someone like that again. Love like that wrecks you, utterly destroys you. It’s why I make the choices I make now. And yeah, it’s safer but my God is life sweeter when you have it.

“Joel’s broken like that, too,” she said. “Part of why we get along. I’m not sure he’ll ever get his shit together. It’s too big a risk for him. But I think you still can figure it out. It hasn’t broken you yet. You still wear ribbons in your hair. You’re not broken yet.” 

You stared at the wall for a moment. 

“I need to talk to Tommy,” you said eventually. 

“I’m really sorry, Doc,” she said quietly. 

“Me too.” 

You made yourself stop crying before you knocked on Tommy’s door and opened it quietly, half hoping he would be asleep when you went inside. 

No such luck. 

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he half smiled at you. 

“Hey,” you half smiled back. “How are you feeling?” 

“Been better,” he shrugged. “Been worse.” 

You nodded. 

“The nurse - Kristen, I think? - said Joel was fine,” he said. You nodded again. 

He just looked at you for a moment, like he was memorizing you. 

“I never had a shot, did I?” He asked. 

You smiled tightly. 

“I told you I wasn’t sure I could ever love anyone else,” you said softly. 

“You did,” he nodded. “Just hoped I’d convince you.” 

“You and me both.” 

He smiled at that and held out his hand for you. You took it, letting him tug you to him. 

“You’ve been the most fun I’ve had since the end of the world,” he said. “Glad we got to figure it out.” 

“Me too,” you sniffed, trying not to cry. 

He smiled and kissed your forehead. 

“Go sleep,” he said. “You look like you’re about to fall over.” 

“Yeah, I think I am,” you laughed. “Your brother is fucking heavy, I’m never hauling him anywhere again…” 

He laughed at that, too. You looked at him. 

“I really tried,” you said quietly. “But…” 

“I know,” he said. “Now get out of here before I do something stupid.” 

You nodded and went for the door. 

“Hey,” he said. 

You stopped and turned back to him. 

“Here’s looking at you, Kid.” 

You smiled, shook your head a little, and left him behind. 

A/N: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as things ramp up as we build into the core story of TLOU. Tommy will still be around for a bit but boyfriend Tommy is over. So sorry for all the Tommy Stans! This was always the plan, though. He was here to help Joel figure his shit out and give Doc a way out of her single-mindedness when it comes to Joel.

I do have a tag list, please let me know if you'd like to be added, just comment below! If you've asked and haven't made it on, please ask again. I'm trying to get everyone added but I think people may have slipped through the cracks because I have no organizational system for this.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting and letting me know how the story makes you feel! It's a joy to write for you all, thank you for hanging out with my characters :)

Taglist: @paleidiot @ayamenimthiriel @ginger-swag-rapunzel @drewharrisonwriter @flugazi @pedropascalsbbg @taoyuji @starstruckmusiciansartghost @splendsay @bigboiseason123 @jpbplvr @ashleyandring @mrsyixingunicorn10 @sloanexx @ninaminaromina @lady-bellyn

[dooareyastudy]

À votre avis barnier peut il faire avancer l’écologie? Et le modèle économique libéral de barnier et Macron peut il être compatible avec plus de dépenses pour les services publiques ? Pourquoi des médias comme le monde relaye cela ?

"Je parle notamment de cette vidéo de Le Monde : Quelles sont les idées politiques de Michel Barnier ? Comprendre en trois minutes. Qu’en pensez-vous vous de ce qu’y est dit ?"

"Michel Barnier a-t-il fait des choses importantes dans sa carrière pour le social et les services publics comme le disent les médias ?"

Plusieurs questions qui tournent autour d'un même thème, je fais une réponse groupée qui laisse toutefois de côté certains éléments de vos questions donc n'hésitez pas à rebondir à partir de ma réponse.

Michel Barnier est un pur politicien si on peut dire, il a un énorme parcours politique donc il a du faire du bien comme du critiquable au cours de sa très (trop) longue carrière. Il serait intéressant de comparer ses prises de position avec les positions du parti auquel il appartenait, pour déterminer si c’était un élu qui respectait les consignes de son parti ou s’il faisait parfois preuve de dissidence (et il faudrait voir s’il adoptait plus souvent une position plus progressiste ou non que son parti). Mais je n’ai pas le temps de faire ça actuellement, donc on s’en tiendra à quelques moments clés du parcours de Barnier. Le matériel source est bien évidemment la page wikipédia du concerné.

En ce qui concerne l’écologie :

Il a eu un ministère de l’écologie en 1993, à la tête duquel il a notamment porté la loi n° 95-101 du 2 février 1995 relative au renforcement de la protection de l'environnement. Celle-ci va notamment inscrire le principe de précaution dans le droit interne : peut-être témoin de l’engagement de Barnier en faveur de l’écologie, c’est surtout la nécessaire traduction en interne du principe de précaution adopté dans le cadre de l’UE en 1992.

Notons aussi la « taxe Barnier », qui taxe les entreprises de transport maritime sur les passagers embarqués à destination d’espaces naturels protégés (en sont bénéficiaires les gestionnaires des parcs nationaux, des réserves naturelles etc. – elle ne rapporte pas grand-chose, mais c’est toujours ça).

S’il faut bien lui mettre ces mesures à son actif, notons que par rapport à sa très longue carrière, son engagement en faveur de l’écologie (au moins au niveau national – peut-être son engagement au niveau local me ferait mentir) reste très limité, peu ambitieux et surtout, il date. A la tête du ministère de l’environnement, on peut penser que son bilan est vraiment le strict minimum de ce qu’on pourrait faire. Ainsi, dire qu’il a « un intérêt constant pour l’écologie » (je cite la vidéo mentionnée dans la question) me semble assez exagéré.

En ce qui concerne le social :

On peut relever plusieurs moments importants de la carrière de Barnier. En 1981, il vote en faveur de l’abolition de la peine de mort (grand seigneur – peu d’élus de droite été étaient favorables). La même année, il vote contre la dépénalisation des relations homosexuelles entre personnes de plus de 15 ans (donc y compris entre adultes consentants...). L’année suivante, il vote contre le projet de remboursement de l’IVG par la Sécurité sociale. Pas grand-chose de très récent donc, ni de très surprenant pour un élu de droite.

Plus récemment, on peut mentionner sa proposition (après l’annonce de sa candidature à la dernière présidentielle) de mettre en place un moratoire de trois à cinq ans sur l’immigration dans l’Union européenne (hors étudiants et demandeurs d’asile), soi-disant pour « pouvoir étudier les problèmes liés à l’immigration en France » (comme si empêcher les gens d’arriver en France changeait fondamentalement la donne pour l’étude des problèmes). Par la suite, il est d’ailleurs revenu sur cette proposition : pour proposer de réduire y compris l’accueil des étudiants étrangers !

Mentionnons surtout son programme pour la dernière présidentielle qui va vous montrer que la préoccupation de Barnier, ce n’est ni l’écologie, ni les services publics. Voici ses propositions phares :

Baisse des taxes pour les entreprises françaises

Baisse des cotisations sur les salaires moyens et suppression des charges pendant 3 ans pour le premier emploi d’un jeune 

Augmentation de l’âge légal de départ à la retraite de 62 à 65 ans (on est à deux doigts de féliciter Macron d’avoir repoussé uniquement à 64 ans)

Revenir sur les 35 heures hebdomadaires (si si, à l’époque où certains pays expérimentent la semaine de 4 jours)

Instauration d’une aide sociale unique en lieu et place des aides sociales actuelles et conditionnée à une disponibilité du bénéficiaire, notamment pour « effectuer des activités utiles à la collectivité ou en entreprise »

En somme, un programme de droite et très Macron-compatible. D’ailleurs, il faut relever la proximité qui existait déjà entre Barnier et Macron (et son entourage) : soutien de Bruno Le Maire pour la primaire française de la droite et du centre en 2016 ; pressenti par le camp présidentiel pour la présidence de la Commission européenne en 2019…

Tout cela n’est donc pas très fameux comme bilan, à mon humble avis. S’il se définit comme « gaulliste social », je peine à voir comment s’est exprimé son engagement en faveur des classes moyennes et des services publics, d’autant plus quand il défend au contraire un programme de « baisse des charges » dont on sait qu’une telle baisse des cotisations sociales ne peut se traduire que par une remise en cause des droits sociaux des personnes.

La vidéo mentionnée dans la question rappelle bien que dans ses dernières prises de position, on peut voir un « durcissement » dans ses propositions mais c’est peut-être aussi simplement que, très occupé par la question européenne, il ne prenait pas trop position sur ces autres questions.

Mais en même temps, si les gens de droite étaient de gauche, ça se saurait !

[hearty-an0n]

url song game :3< tagged by @39max

h - hot to go! (chappell roan)

e - exes (tate mcrae)

a - american idiot (green day)

r - rebel rebel (david bowie)

t - trans starshup feminist BDSM paradise (dog park dissidents)

y - you’re gonna go far, kid (the offspring)

a - assholes (mommy long legs)

n - not my fault (reneé rapp, megan thee stallion)

o - obsessed (olivia rodrigo)

n - not like us (kendrick lamar)

tagging: @ultimatehopes @renchanters @saintofanything

[randomwritingguy]

The Myth of Y/N (Korra x Reader) Part 30

THE END OF AN ERA

Y/N’S POV

By the time I regained consciousness, we were already on the road.

Tied up with Mako and Bolin, the only thing I can see straight ahead is the bland, metal wall of the moving van driven by Zaheer. Glancing to the right, I can see him and the combustion bender on the front seats. As for the other two, they are at the back with us, watching our every move.

Mako, the police officer that he is, shows no fear to them.

“If you think holding us hostage will give you some leverage against the Avatar, you're gonna be very disappointed.” He bravely tells them.

The crazy water-arm lady doesn’t care. “Can't we just enjoy our time together in silence?”

The detective doesn’t waver. “And why did you need Korra alive back in Zaofu? You had her paralyzed. Why didn't you just take her out when you had the chance?”

The mention of Korra makes me tense.

Korra and Asami are probably halfway to Ba Sing Se by now to face the wrath of the Earth Queen and we’re sitting ducks. The thought makes me sick.

And those questions Mako brought up have been on my mind for the past few hours now. None of it makes sense. Their goal can’t be what it was thirteen years ago which was to brainwash Korra to do their bidding. She’s grown up with her own beliefs. So, what then? What can they possibly want from her?

“Look, all you need to know is that the world is about to change, for the better.” Ghazan declares with complete pride and confidence.

He sounds so sure that this is the best option for the world. That this will benefit everyone. Their delusion fuels the anger within me and for the first time since I woke up, I speak up.

“Keep telling yourself that when there’s anarchy in the streets.” I growl out. I turn my head to the general direction of Zaheer. “Tell yourself that when people suffer and die from the chaos that your leader desires!”

In the wind-view mirror of the van, I see Zaheer frown slightly and for a brief moment shift his gaze toward me in the mirror, expression unreadable, only to shift back to the road ahead.

“Quiet!” He tells me with annoyance. “You have no idea what you are talking about. Once we bring true freedom to the world, there will be balance.”

“You’re insane.” Mako tells him. “All of you!”

“Whatever.” The waterbender says, dismissing our comments. “It doesn’t matter what you think of us. What matters is that you three stays out of our way.”

As if we have a choice now to stop them.

“Ghazan, gag them up.” Zaheer orders with a sense of urgency. “We’re almost there.”

Ah, great. Ba Sing Se.

The last time we were here I called the Earth Queen a bitch. She probably would be the most angry at me the most.

Suddenly, a new thought strikes me.

What if Zaheer tells her I’m an airbender? Is she’s going to send me to that airbending prison underneath her temple?

Oh no.

As Ghazan gags us, the anxiousness in my belly swirls.

Here we go.

TIME SKIP

The doors of the throne room swung wide open and in a flash the tied up amalgamation of Mako, Bolin, and I, gagged to silence, are thrown with an inhumane strength right in front of the Earth Queen and Gun, the former with an arrogant grin on her horrible face.

“Ah, yes, I remember these three.” She says, not really speaking to anyone in particular. She then glares at me in particular and I see the rage in her eyes boil. “You.”

Uh oh.

She points directly at me, fingernails sharp like a blade. “You are the one who disrespected me in a disgusting manner! The other two shall find an acceptable home for you in prison, with the rest of the dissidents. But, you! You will suffer for years to come!”

Her outrage sends chills down my spine and I feel sweat building it up. There is no way I can get out of this.

When the queen finally finishes her outburst she turns to the Red Lotus, her rage now disappeared. “Now, I'm told you have some information for me. I hope this isn't just some ruse to increase your bounty.”

What? Information?

“We don’t want any bounty, your majesty.” Zaheer responds in a kind tone that adds to his façade of a welcoming stranger. “You can consider these two a "thank you" gift for simply taking the time to talk to us.”

“How very magnanimous.” She dryly retorts. “So, where are my airbenders?”

WHAT?!

“I’d be happy to tell you,” Zaheer tells her, “once you hand the Avatar over to me.”

WHAT?!

The mere mention of Korra sends the Queen to another fit of rage. “Who told you that we have the Avatar?!”

“How I know is not important.” Zaheer says, ignoring the question and her glare. “But if I found out, others will too. And that could put you in a difficult position.”

“Is that so?”

“Your Majesty, imprisoning the Avatar will cause the other nations to turn against you and demand her freedom.” Zaheer explains like a tactician. “Before long, we'd be in the midst of a sticky international incident. If you let me take her today, no one need ever know she was here, and you can get your airbenders back without interference. We both win.”

As much as I hate to admit it, he makes a very convincing argument. Dammit.

“And what do you plan to do with the Avatar should I see fit to grant your request?”

“All I can say is: I have business with her. But she won't be bothering you again. I can assure you of that.”

Dammit, what do they want from Korra?! It sounds like they want to kill her and yet they didn’t back at Zaofu? What’s their endgame?!

After a tense moment of hesitation, a sinister smile spreads across the queen’s face.

Oh no.

Rising from her throne, she stands tall and pride. “I find these terms agreeable. Gun, escort them to the antechamber until the Avatar's arrival.”

She gestures towards her Dai Li guards. “Send these two to the dungeon and the water tribe peasant to the torture chamber.”

Torture chamber?!

Before I can fully process the meaning behind her words, the ground below us splits open and we all fall to the abyss.

TIME SKIP

“AAARRRGGGGHHHH!”

My screams echo across the confined space of the room. The pain across my body intensifies each and every second as the chains wrapped around my hands and ankles pull further away from my body, reaching to the very breaking point of my bones and muscles. If they pull any further, my arms and legs would snap from my body like mere twigs from a branch.

“You are a long way from your water tribe, peasant.”

Trying to ignore the pain as best as I can, I squint with my eyes from down below and I see the Earth Queen with her infamous sadistic smile. Despite being above her as I am suspended in the air, I feel small in her presence and she’s enjoying every minute of it.

“YOU’RE A FUCKING MONSTER!” I yell out, but the scream sounds more pained than rageful and she knows it.

“Again, with the disrespect!” The Queen snaps. “When will you ever learn? Are all Water Tribe folk so dense?!”

She nods to one of her Dai Li guards and in harmony they all raise their arms and with a swift motion send out only a single piece of earth from their rock hands.

I close my eyes, ready for more pain…

But it never comes.

Reopening my eyes, I see the rocks floating inches from all over my body.

Then, with a wave of the queen’s hand, the stones move closer and closer and closer until they finally reach my skin.

But they don’t stop! Instead, they press further, and further, and further, into my body of all pressure points and I engulf in flames of suffering!

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO FUCKING MUCH!

Admist my screams of agony, I just barely hear the Queen.

“Now, if you apologise, I might order my guards to stop. All you have to say is sorry.”

NEVER! I AM NEVER GOING TO FUCKING APOLOGISE TO HER!

“YOU’RE IN DANGER!” I instead tell her, barely getting the words out despite the pain.

The rocks immediately pull out of my body and the fiery suffering fades.

“Explain.” The Queen commands, her voice suspicious and urgent.

Panting deep breaths, I let it all out. “The people who gave us to you, they aren’t who you think they are. They want to kill you!”

She scoffs at my accusations as if finding it completely absurd.

“And why should I believe you?”

I stare right into her eyes and give her one simply response.

“Because the fate of the Earth Kingdom depends on it.”

Her eyebrows raise slightly in mild surprise. Does she believe me?

Before I can get my hopes up, she quickly tenses back up again.

“A lot of people want to kill me.” The Queen nonchalantly states. “Plenty have tried in the past and they all failed. If what you are saying is true, my Dai Li will take care of them.”

NO!

“You don’t understand!” I yell at her, desperate now. “These aren’t ordinary assassins! They are more dangerous than all of your previous enemies! You must listen to me!”

“Enough!” She snaps with a raise of her hand. “I will not be scared easily by the Avatar’s servant nor by some hooligans. Them wanting me dead or not, I win regardless.”

With an elegant swoop, she turns and walks to the exit of the chamber followed by her guards.

“We will leave you here to recuperate.” The Queen declares. She then looks at me over her shadow. “And then we will torture you again.”

And, just like that, they all exit the room and I am left alone.

No…

No…

No!

Despite my resistance, tears begin welling before my eyes. Before I know it, they fall from my cheeks in rapid succession.

“Mum, Dad.” I whisper through the sobs. Spirits, I am seeking their comfort after everything they have put me through.

I miss them so much. I miss their smiles, and hugs, and love.

I miss the simple times. I miss the times before all this broke out where my friends and I were just hanging out and living our lives.

I miss Air Temple Island. I miss, Tenzin, Pema, Bumi, Kya, and the air kids.

I miss Kyuni and her kindess.

I miss it all.

Why couldn’t everything just go back to when it was so simple?

Now, everything has changed and I am going to lose everything I care about.

Raising my head to the air, I let out a scream that rivals the roar of a dragon.

“AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The only response I get is the echoes of my roar.

There’s no-one else but myself.

I am alone.

TIME SKIP

Time passed. I don’t know how much.

The chains still pull at my arms and legs like animals fighting over a piece of meat.

And I?

I am still alone.

“Attention citizens of Ba Sing Se. I have an important announcement to make.”

My eyes snap open as I raise to the source of the voice coming from a speak at the corner of the room. Zaheer’s voice.

A sinking feeling in my gut emerges as a single thought comes to mind.

Oh no.

He didn’t...

“Moments ago, the Earth Queen was brought down by the hands of revolutionaries, including myself.”

He did…

The Earth Queen…is dead. Her reign has come to an end. Just like Ba Sing Se and soon…the Earth Kingdom.

Zaheer continues, clearly proud of what he has just done. “I'm not going to tell you my name, because my identity is not important. I'm not here to take over the Earth Kingdom. I think you've had enough of leaders telling you what to do. It's time for you to find your own path. No longer will you be oppressed by tyrants. From now on, you are free! II deliver Ba Sing Se be into the hands of the people!”

It isn’t long after his declaration is done when the door to the chamber slides open and walks him the speaker himself.

“What have you done?!” I shout at him, spitting into the air. “You’ve doomed the entire nation!”

Zaheer doesn’t respond right away. Instead, he gazes at the chains all over me. Then, in a quick motion, he swipes multiple air kicks into their directions!

Their force of the wind is so powerful that the chains break and I begin to fall, only for the impact to be softened by another gust of wind from the criminal, acting like some sort of pillow for my fall.

What?!

“I’m sorry for what she did to you.” He tells me, his tone sounding sincere. “Are you okay?”

Gritting my teeth, I glare at him. “You killed her!”

“I did.” Zaheer confirms nonchalantly that contained no hint of regret or sorrow. “Her reign of tyranny is over. You should be glad. You despised her as much as I do.”

“I’m not sad she is dead! She deserved it!” I angrily shout back. I am briefly surprised that I admitted so carelessly of how I don’t care about the queen’s demise but it quickly subsides. Now is not the time. “But you have teared down the government! There’s going to be chaos!”

“I do not wish to go over old ground.” Zaheer dismisses. “I freed you because I have a message that I want you and your friends to deliver to Korra.”

What?!

“A message?” I snarl. “What kind of message?!”

“It’s simple really.” He tells me. “Tell Korra that me and my friends are heading towards the Northern Air Temple. We are going to wipe out the new Air Nation and everyone in it…unless she surrenders to us.”

WHAT?!

“YOU CAN’T!” I yell, rising to my feet but only to collapse back onto the ground. “They are just rebuilding after near extinction! Please! Don’t drag them into this!”

Zaheer’s stone cold face tells me everything I need to know. “I suggest you hurry. You don’t want to arrive to the temple and see it in flames, do you?”

He turns and walks away, leaving me in my brusied state.

NO!

“ZAHEER!”

He doesn’t listen. He keeps walking and walking and walking until he eventually disappears.

NO NO NO NO NO NO!

Tenzin, Pema, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Bumi, Kai, Esha, Opal, and the others are in danger! If we don’t get them in time they are all going to be killed!

I try to get up once more but fall back to my feet. The torture has brought my body to near ruin.

NO! I can’t let this stop me! I need to do this! I may have failed the Earth Kingdom, but I can’t fail the Air Nation! I can’t fail Tenzin! Not now! COME ON!

I try again and despite shaking knees, I manage to rise to my feet. The pain ignites the flames from within but I persist. I have to. For the Air Nomads.

I can’t do anything else to Ba Sing Se. It is probably in chaos right now. I have to worry about it after this is over.

First, I need to find Mako and Bolin.

Then, we get out of here.

Then, we find Korra and Asami.

And, finally, we must prevent a second genocide of the Air Nation.

Gathering all my remaining strength, I begin my march.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you all enjoyed the shorter chapter today!

Feedback is appreciated!

See you all in the next chapter! :D

[jittyjames]

MASTERPOST FOR FICS

fic request rules

(at least, i think that's what these are called)

(i write for hamilton and jcs)

Categories:

i only write character x character! i'm sorry, i'm absolutely dreadful at writing self inserts or y/n characters! there's nothing wrong with those, i just completely fail at them.

i can also write things that are strictly platonic and have no romantic connections if that is what you prefer!

I will write for literally ANY hamilton/jcs ship or character. I love them all and I am not very picky when it comes to writing them. (lgbtq+ ships, poly ships, het ships, etc.)

Genres:

Whump (hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort, emotional whump, sickfics, etc.)

Fluff (romantic fluff, platonic fluff, family fluff, etc.)

AUs (literally any you could possibly think of lol)

Songfics

Smut

I will not write anything underage or incest. period.

I also won't write anything like romanticized abuse or any other romanticized icks. that's not to say the fic cannot have dark themes, but i won't write it in a glorified light.

other than that, i will pretty much write anything! (maybe not heavy fetishes tho. when in doubt, don't be afraid to ask!)

the requests can be as specific as you'd like! it can be a paragraph or just a few words! feel free to submit anonymously or publically so i can credit you for the idea!

I'll post them on AO3!

WIPS

Hamilton

the means to go on (multichap whump fic)

new money (enemies to friends fic, requested)

feverish disruptions (sickfic, requested)

sweet nothings (lams smut, requested)

eyes open (thg au)

darling dissident (alexandra hamilton au)

untitled philip sickfic (requested)

untitled ghost laurens fic (requested)

tolerate it (song fic, requested)

JCS

perfidy (multichap whump fic)

waste of money, waste of man (multichap angst fic)

seven sweetest sins (fluff multishot collection)

contrition (one-shot angst fic)

[theysherobinbuckley]

username song game

rules: for each letter of your username put a song.

tagged by @stobinesque !! tysm! :)

T: To Have and to Hold - Depeche Mode

H: Host - Dog Park Dissidents

E: Even Flow - Pearl Jam

Y: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Dead or Alive

S: Soul With Me - Depeche Mode

H: Hexie Mountains - Orville Peck

E: Eat Your Young - Hozier

R: RuPaul's Frack Race - Dog Park Dissidents

O: Once - Pearl Jam

B: Body - Grandmas House

I: I Want You Now - Depeche Mode

N: now (in space) - Montaigne

B: Bronco - Orville Peck

U: Unloveable - The Smiths

C: Cloudbusting - Kate Bush

K: Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down

L: Lafayette - Orville Peck

E: Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode

Y: You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby - The Smiths

i'll tag @hellsfireclub @steviesnailbat @solarmorrigan and anyone else who feels like doing this :)

[azeez-unv]

Self appraisal - Teachers 

¹Name 

²DOB 

³Age

⁴DOJ 

⁵Designation

⁶Qualifications including diplomas and highest degrees

⁷Years of experience 

⁸Area of specialization

⁹Proficiency in extracurricular activities

¹⁰Details of additional training / faculty improvement / further study undergone

¹¹Class and subject being handled

¹²If class teacher then which class

¹³Activities and/or responsibilities handled other than academics in the school?

¹⁴Strength of the class in the previous year ¹⁵Number of dissident children 

¹⁶According to you reason for the dissidents ¹⁷What was the best moments and the worst moments that you could think of for this session 

¹⁸According to you, was the previous year very productive and how?

¹⁹According to you what kind of workshops should be conducted for teachers for their betterment and when would you want them to be conducted.

²⁰According to you what kind of workshops (topics) should be conducted for studentsfor their betterment?.

²¹What steps according to you can be taken by the school administration:

• For better communication with parents 

• For better communication with teachers

• Inculcating discipline amongst students.

• Encouraging the use of English as a medium of instruction 

• Further spread the goodwill of the school

• Improve the work environment for teachers at the institute

²²How would you rate yourself on given heads and what steps are you taking to better yourself further:

• Regularity

• Punctuality

• Language

• Reporting

• General Demeanour

• Parent communications

• Teaching methodology 

• Research for teaching 

• Keeping yourself updated regarding current affairs 

²³What according to you is your biggest strength as a good teacher?

²⁴What according to you are the most effective methodology, corrective measures or aid to inculcate discipline amongst students 

• When they are fighting 

• When they disturb the class 

• When they destroy the school property 

• When they litter the class 

• When there is generally indiscipline 

• When they do not use age appropriate language 

• When they do not follow clear instructions

• When they are not studying to their potential 

²⁵Your suggestions for the general improvement of the school

²⁶Where do you see yourself at the end of this session?

²⁷Would you want to be a part of this school as a faculty (y/n) if yes your convenient time

[babyawacs]

‎#independent  #notmywar #on #russian_coup ‎ @peace .@peace (((.peace))) ‎.@nato @otan .@o tan .@msc @bundeswehrinfo @nato @ard_presseclub @otan .@sun .@bundeswehrinfo @pacificcommand .@p acificsubs .@us_stratcom @iafsite .@msc @osce .@osce .@ksce.@us_stratcom .@iaeaorg @us_stratcom .@ukraine #keypoint the russian a r m y doesnot want to die anymore and this is to cut down army dissent and unite the country.this is i n noway a power struggle between prighozhin andputin and was not ever. crude channeling of russians died withmore war functionality itis an internal dissent crackdown likely in army and new measure s for tighter control for recruitment and war losses steppedup the west and october revolution and allrussians must only fightbetter and resist the dissidents and the onlyguy thatcouldvedone it whoisnot about power powergrab  

‎#independent #notmywar #on #russian_coup @peace .@peace (((.peace))) ‎.@nato @otan .@otan .@msc @bundeswehrinfo @nato @ard_presseclub @otan .@sun .@bundeswehrinfo @pacificcommand .@pacificsubs .@us_stratcom @iafsite .@msc @osce .@osce .@ksce.@us_stratcom .@iaeaorg @us_stratcom .@ukraine #keypoint the russian a r m y doesnot want to die anymore and this is to cut down army dissent and unite the…

[wordexpress]

Manipur violence: 9 BJP MLAs write to PM Modi, say people lost trust in state government

Nine BJP MLAs from Manipur, hit by violence since May 3, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the law and order situation in the state. They said people in the state have lost faith in the government headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Nine Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators from violence-hit Manipur wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that the people of the state have lost complete faith in the N Biren Singh-led government.

Submitting a five-point memorandum to PM Modi, the MLAs said there was no trust and confidence in the government and the administration.

“Some special measures for proper administration and function of the government by following the rule of law may kindly be resorted to so that the trust and confidence of the people are restored,” the memorandum read.

It was signed by nine BJP MLAs — Karam Shyam Singh, Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, Nishikant Sing Sapam, Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh, S Brojen Singh, T Robindro Singh, S Rajen Singh, S Kebi Devi, and Y Radheshyam. They all belong to the Meitei community.

The legislators requested a meeting to be arranged between the Kuki MLAs and Meitei MLAs. They also demanded uniform deployment of central forces across all parts of Manipur.

The memorandum also stressed that the integrity of the state should not be compromised and that the request for a separate administration by any community should not be taken into consideration at any cost.

Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. More than 100 people have lost their lives in the violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

The memorandum labelling the N Biren Singh-led government as a failure is being seen as another episode of dissidence within the Manipur BJP.

In April, Karam Shyam Singh resigned from the post of chairman of the Tourism Corporation of Manipur, alleging that he had not been assigned any responsibility in his job.

Not just Karam Shyam Singh, three other signatories of the memorandum — Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, S Brojen Singh and Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh — had resigned from various administrative and advisory positions in the government, indirectly expressing dissidence against N Biren Singh.

The memorandum was submitted to PM Modi on the day when 28 BJP MLAs from the Meitei community, who are loyalists of N Biren Singh, met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi. They had demanded strict action against Kuki militant groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO).

Most Meitei groups claim that Kuki militants are behind the current violence. The next day, on June 20, eight of the nine signatories joined the other delegation and met BJP’s national general secretary BL Santhosh.

“They were misled. We all agreed that we can leave politics behind and should work to bring peace back to the state,” Imo Singh told India Today NE.

However, one of the nine signatories, Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, was not part of the delegation that met BL Santosh. In April, Radheshyam Singh resigned as the advisor to N Biren Singh.

Speaking to India Today NE, Radheshyam Singh, said that the two warring communities should be contacted by a third party and the MLAs from both communities should come forward for dialogues to find a solution and establish peace in the state.

“There are two Kuki ministers who have not visited Imphal since the violence broke out. If they can’t visit Imphal, the functioning of the government will be paralysed. Can we have peace and a solution without involving the Kukis?” he asked.

[mccarthymolly]

k dissident, student who study df or dissident frm ther roures nt knwwt do yh uh, cmc w qs, evok mybe uh k hmu no u

Morning reasing n listening, okwtjuuuo no ku uh k

Yh n id, uhoh, odentify, okyhuh, culture's psy neliefs esp psy ther or ther blfs yhwwuh yh uh pl h uuuh

Dont look yhuhyh gd housi

K forum uh yh uh no u ho k h ju y hno choc uhoh hmuh no uh y i h hm u h

[lynaferns]

Mmmmmmmm the reader insert poll made me think...

I want to write something for all of my AUs even if it's just one short chapter. Some of the AUs use y/n's because I didn't feel like inserting myself in those AUs or because I wanted a character to have a different dynamic with the DCA.

But I realized I don't really want to write in a "you" perspective. Y'know, like "you were a x who lived in a [insert situation]" "you take your keys and leave your house to head to [place]" "you shakingly reach out to hold him but something stopped you" that type of narration.

I should find some type of nickname for my y/n's to make it easier for me.

The Y/N from the God AU is already referred to as Dissident (or Heretic) so that's 1 out of 3 at least...

[news24fr]

Le dirigeant chinois Xi Jinping a déclaré à son pays qu'il se tenait du « côté droit de l'histoire » dans un discours du Nouvel An samedi, mais les experts ont averti que le président commence 2023 diminué par sa stratégie chaotique de demi-tour sur Covid.Il peut avoir du mal à détourner le blâme des coûts humains et économiques de l'échec du zéro-Covid et à contrôler le récit national, même si les signes publics de dissidence sont écrasés.Officiellement, la Chine a enregistré un peu plus de 5 200 décès dus à Covid, mais il y a un écart béant entre l'image présentée par l'appareil de propagande communiste habituellement efficace et la réalité reflétée dans les publications sur les réseaux sociaux et les anecdotes de toute la Chine.Les urgences des hôpitaux débordent de patients désespérés. Les fournitures médicales s'épuisent, les pharmacies vendant des médicaments allant des antiviraux aux analgésiques de base. La police a patrouillé dans un crématorium de Pékin où Reuters a signalé de longues files d'attente de corbillards la semaine dernière.Dans ses premiers commentaires publics au peuple chinois sur Covid depuis que son gouvernement a changé de cap il y a trois semaines, Xi a utilisé son discours de samedi pour affirmer que le gouvernement et le parti communiste chinois (PCC) avaient « fait passer le peuple en premier et fait passer la vie en premier depuis le début ». .Pour beaucoup en Chine, cette phrase sonnera creux, en particulier ceux qui se battent pour les soins médicaux de leurs proches nouvellement frappés par la maladie.Les questions sur les raisons pour lesquelles le pays s'est accroché si longtemps au zéro-Covid, à un coût si élevé, et ont fait si peu pour se préparer à l'ouverture sont susceptibles de saper Xi, même si les dommages causés à son autorité ne sont pas visibles au-delà des murs du secret composés de leadership."Le fait que la posture du PCC envers la pandémie se soit maintenant complètement inversée après un soulèvement populaire ne peut que gâcher l'air d'infaillibilité soigneusement cultivé de Xi Jinping", a déclaré Orville Schell, directeur du centre sur les relations américano-chinoises à l'Asia Society à New York. ."Xi est pratiquement à l'abri des expressions publiques de critiques en Chine", a-t-il ajouté. "Mais mes amis chinois secouent tous la tête d'incrédulité face au caractère contraire de la politique de Xi."Patients atteints de coronavirus dans le hall de l'hôpital populaire n° 5 de Chongqing, dans la ville de Chongqing, dans le sud-ouest de la Chine. Photographie : Noel Celis/AFP/Getty ImagesDes analystes étrangers, parcourant Internet et les déclarations officielles à la recherche d'indices, estiment qu'il y a déjà des milliers de morts par jour, et que d'autres sont à venir.Une première vague dans les zones urbaines devrait culminer en janvier, mais une deuxième vague plus importante traversera les zones rurales – où les systèmes de santé sont encore plus faibles – en février et culminera début mars, selon la société britannique d'analyse de la santé Airfinity.Il peut également y avoir un coût économique à donner libre cours à Covid. Certains analystes ont déclaré s'attendre à un petit exode des élites, parallèlement à des efforts renouvelés pour faire sortir l'argent du pays. Cela pourrait accroître la pression sur une économie en décélération rapide.Xi a précédemment lié son prestige personnel aux politiques draconiennes de Covid-zéro, promettant de s'en tenir aux strictes restrictions alors qu'il cimentait son autorité personnelle et revendiquait un troisième mandat au pouvoir lors d'un sommet clé du parti communiste en octobre.Mais en novembre, le pays était secoué par des manifestations publiques de masse contre les contrôles. Des milliers de personnes ont défié de lourdes sanctions pour activité politique dans un État de surveillance pour se joindre aux manifestations les plus répandues que la Chine ait connues depuis des décennies.Dans leur sillage, Pékin a brusquement changé de cap, abandonnant les contrôles presque du jour au lendemain.

Depuis lors, la spirale des décès a alarmé au-delà de la Chine, en particulier par crainte qu'un grand nombre de nouveaux cas ne crée les conditions de l'émergence d'une nouvelle variante dangereuse.L'Organisation mondiale de la santé a demandé plus de transparence à Pékin, demandant plus de données sur le séquençage génétique, les hospitalisations, les admissions et les décès en unité de soins intensifs et sur les vaccinations délivrées et le statut vaccinal.La semaine dernière, la Grande-Bretagne s'est jointe à d'autres pays, dont les États-Unis, le Japon et l'Italie, pour exiger des tests Covid négatifs pour les passagers en provenance de Chine.Les autorités ont cité le manque de données fiables en provenance de Chine, bien que de nombreux experts aient critiqué les contrôles comme des réponses instinctives visant davantage à apaiser l'opinion publique qu'à protéger la santé publique.Inscrivez-vous pour Première éditionNewsletter quotidienne gratuiteArchie Bland et Nimo Omer vous guident à travers les meilleures histoires et ce qu'elles signifient, gratuitement tous les matins de la semaine

[howl-fantasies]

Hi!!

Okey so... After reading that story ab Oswald being kinda nice to reader I realised I needed more >.< and thought how funny it would be if Victor walked into a room to see Ozzy and Reader bonding, and Zsasz is like (:l ugh unexpected(?

Idk e.e Would love to see what your beautiful mind can do with this uwu *tips fedora*

A/N - Hahaha! I really like the idea of the two bonding and basically everyone thinking it absolutely weird and creepy 😂

Here you go dear, I hope you'll like it and not fret too much with those two being friendly with each other 🥰

Warning: English mistakes, it's not my first language but I'm working on it. And that's it I think... Maybe a little bit of blood at the beginning, it's Gotham after all...

--

The noise of the bullet hitting the last skull just echoed in Oswald's meeting room, inside of his manoir. At his feet, was now laying the fifth corpse of the morning, their blood slowly staining one of his expensives carpets.

Not like he minded at this very moment. The new king of Gotham was more focused on the fact that five unknown men managed to crack his security system and successfully passed in front of his goons, who were supposed to guard his HQ, while he was outside with Y/N and Victor to put some iron sense into the thick heads of some stupid thugs operating without Penguin's license. While Victor stayed in town to kill the last dissidents, Cobblepot and Y/N came back to his mansion.

"Unbelievable." He scoffed, pushing with one of his shiny shoes the shoulder of the corpse to turn it around. "How did those imbeciles missed five freaking men barging in their boss' house?!" He now yelled, his face turning red as he shook with anger.

He saw the tall woman accompanying him slowly crouch to take a closer look at the dead man. She was tilting her head slowly from left to right like she always used to do when she was in deep thoughts, reminding Cobblepot of a hawk.

"Well?" He screeched.

The brunette ignored him, making his nostrils flare. But he knew better than yelling like a mad man when he saw one of her hands grabbing the corpse's left arm and pulling his shirt to expose his shoulder to reveal a tattoo.

"What is it?" He muttered as he leaned a bit to see the thing better.

Y/N let the arm fall on the floor in a loud "thud" and turned her head a bit to be able to see Oswald better. "I know you're more into birds, but I thought you'd be able to recognize a snake, Oswald dear", she mocked a bit with a huge grin, only earning a 'tsk' and an eyes roll.

"You perfectly know what I meant you tart. Have you ever seen this?" He grumbled.

She lifted up swiftly and lazily stretched. "Hmhm I did." She started to answer, now brushing some invisible dust on her expensive black jacket. "This ugly thing is the logo of one of Carmine's ex-rival gang, the Ripoli family, if my memories are correct".

The news made Oswald frown hard. Of course the rivals of Falcone would now target him to try to win what they weren't able to claim while the old Italian man was still on the throne.

He will have to plan a meeting with them first for Victor and Y/N to identify clearly the heads of the organization, then order a proper execution.

No one tries to kill him like a coward and stay alive long enough to try it a second time. His thinking had to stop when a heavy sigh and a horrible curse reached his ears.

"I swear I'm gonna bring them back from death to choke them with a fucking plastic bag!" The assassin swore, holding in front of her the right side of her jacket and staring at a fresh hole on the higher border of the pocket.

"That moronic dude didn't just have to be a shitty shooter, he also had to rip it off with his fucking knife! It was a gift from Carmine for God fucking sake!" She spat as she kicked said man's head with her hig heels boot.

Oswald watched the scene in deep fascination. If there was something he could understand perfectly, it was her rage. Clothes were something sacred in his opinion as well as his family's, as his father once told him.

Even if he cringed at the colorful insults the woman in front of him was shouting, he had to empathize. The jacket was a beautiful piece, made in high quality silk and, even more important, custom made.

He let a heavy sigh out of his mouth and limped until he went just next to her, pushing her hands away to have a better look at the carnage. "Not like there is something to do with it anymore, it's ruined Oswald. Can you let me go now and stop your pawing?" She sneered.

Her jest was immediately met by a slap on her left arm, supposed to keep her on her spot. "Stop moving idiot, I think I have something which can fix it in my studio." He said calmly, before he let the jacket go and start to walk outside of the room to the place he mentioned, indicating her to follow him with a move of his hand.

Y/N had to raise a doubting brow at this but decided to give it a shot. After all, if there was something she was absolutely trusting Cobblepot with, it was fashion and sewing.

Once inside of the room, she first heard him fumble from the side of the room, just next to the platform and the huge mirror. "I know I have a similar silk somewhere that I kept after making Ed's dark green suit." He informed, still sorting out all the fabrics he had.

"You were the one who made it? Damn! So that's what the two of you were doing in that room." She sounded disappointed and her innuendo won a glare from Oswald who momentarily stopped what he was doing, too stunned by her audacity.

"What is that supposed to mean, Y/N?" He asked slowly, in a guarded tone, just to see if she would poke him more viciously. She didn't, though, on the contrary. The woman assassin raised her hands in an attempt to ease his starting anger.

"I didn't want to sound mean or mocking. I truly was rooting for you guys. And I'm genuinely sad your bromance didn't end well." She said. "But nevermind. You made one hell of a piece with his costume! You're truly talented I have to say" She cheered as she put her thumbs up in front of her for him to see.

Again, he was so taken aback that he brutally stopped his fumbling to stare at her like a second head had grown just next to her own. She even wore a gentle smile he never had the chance to see before.

Not her stupid half or toothy grins, no. A real smile. She was indeed a beautiful woman, he had to recognize. And couldn't stop the warmth he now felt on his cheeks and the back of his neck.

Cobblepot cleared his throat and turned back in front of his fabrics, finally seeing the one he was looking for. "Ah! Here it is. What do you think?" He asked as he extended it in front of him.

She took a few steps to be able to touch it and put her arm against it to see if the green wouldn't be too light. "I'm no specialist here dear, but I think it'll do. I really like the color." She nodded slowly, her eyes moving up to catch his. "What do you think though?"

The little man looked at the juxtaposition of the colors, moving the fabric on different angles to see how it would look under the sun or the lights. "Go on the platform for a second" He asked.

She indulged him, letting Oswald manipulate her arms and the side of the jacket, trying different way to incorporate the dark green silk. "I can't only put it here or it will look strange." He mumbled and she hummed to agree.

"Since it's just situated on the border of the pocket, I can remove both of them and replace it with the new fabric. I would recommend to do the same with the collar. Small touches like these will make it beautifully and people will see it as an intentional artistic choice. Plus green looks good on you I have to say", He detailed.

The look of total wonder in her dark eyes made him go red all over again. "What now?!" He screeched awkwardly. She blinked once before answering. "Dude, why are you at the head of a gang, you'd totally rock as a stylist." She said, again in genuine gentleness.

Oswald shrugged and cleared his throat to try to muffle his swelling pride. "Well I'm also very talented at plotting. And, as another talented plotter, you know it, Y/N." He said.

She pointed him with her index finger and nod solemnly "Damn right you are dear. You're one of the most clever plotter I ever seen, I recognize it".

He felt his smile grow without even thinking about doing the action. This moment was truly priceless he thought. Her statement as well as the respect he saw in her eyes was a greet achievement. Not everyone can boast about being recognized as good at something by the woman, and win her admiration? Goodness even less people entered in this category.

"Uuuuuh... Unexpected?!" A flat voice he knew too well resonated from the door.

Standing with a gun in each hand, Victor was currently looking at them like someone put something in his drink making him see pink elephants everywhere.

Oswald and Y/N took a few steps back to be able to face him properly. "Knocking Victor! We discussed this!" Cobblepot shouted as he was folding the piece of fabric he previously manipulated. "Anyway", he continued. "You're here, finally. Five men broke inside of the house, Y/N took care of them. She thinks they are from the Ripoli's family".

The hitman nodded a few times, his eyes still on them and how Oswald helped his wife out of one of her favorite jacket, talking about some measurements and other bullshit he wasn't sure he wanted to know. However, what he wanted to know, aside from the bodies in the house when he arrived a moment ago - which Oswald explained. Was the silence.

Well, not really the silence, but the - for once- calm voices of Oswald and Y/N having what looked like a quiet and polite conversation. What in hell was that?! Unbelievable. Truly.

"Something's wrong with Carmine's gift? ." Asked Zsasz, while putting back his guns in his holsters, his usually empty eyes still staring at the strange duet.

"Well it's not really what I wanted you to remember about my previous little briefing, Victor", grumbled Oswald. He was now putting some dark green string in a needle. "One of the Italians currently drenching my floor damaged this beautiful piece. It would be criminal to throw it away. That's why I'll fix it." Said Oswald, like he was talking to a five years old.

"Uh-uh", Said Victor, still deeply disturbed by the whole situation.

Just behind Oswald, Y/N showed the other assassin one of her bests grins. "What with the face, Dearest? Oswald and me discovered we had at least something in common. Aren't you happy for us?" She taunted.

The bald man frowned a bit. "Not sure", he muttered between gritted teeth, making her snort and his boss let out an irritated 'tch'. "As your boss, and a fashion enthusiast, it's my duty to provide help when it's within my capacities" Said Oswald like it was an evidence as he started his taylor's work.

"If you say so, boss", answered Victor, his eyes fixed on the complex work he was witnessing. The curves of his wife blocked his view though, and he caught himself checking out if she had any injury. Call it a reflex at this point. She was doing the same, he noted.

When she reached him, she was still wearing her taunting smile, which was grewing bigger as Cobblepot was making a few comments for himself about this or that point to put here. "We got a bit carried away I have to say", she chuckled and shrugged, having to snap her fingers a few times in front of his face to grab his attention back.

"Carried away? Sweetness you were being civil, with Penguin. Even your most wicked mind games never brought me so close to a brainfuck." He whispered.

Another chuckle answered him. "Maybe next time I'll tie you to a chair and make you watch Oswald and me having a tea party and bonding with each other even more." She jested.

"Please don't. Gives me the creeps." He breathed. Frankly. Y/N and Oswald insulting each other was like Gotham and corruption: indissociable. A constant. Any thug in town knew it even before knowing what the two look like. Now them chit-chatting and bonding was concerning. As if the fragile balance of order was suddenly breaking, giving its place to chaos.

"Dearest?" He heard her called.

"Victor?" Also called Oswald.

He blinked, getting out of his spiraling mind. Both of them were now standing in front of him, looking at him like he was going to faint. He wasn't far.

The hitman took a deep inspiration under their worried eyes. "Please stop it" He asked.

"Uh?" They stupidly asked in sync. That was creepy.

"Maybe he needs to sit, Oswald" Y/N suggested, putting her right hand on Zsasz's shoulder and squeezing it a bit.

"Good idea, Y/N, help me taking him to the chair would you?" Penguin answered, putting his other hand on his other shoulder and guiding him near the seat.

"Seriously guys, quit it", muttered the hitman, letting the duet helping him to sit.

"I'm going to bring some water", said his wife.

"Take it at temperature, I'm afraid a cold bottle would aggravate his state of shock", said Oswald.

"I agree", she nodded while gently taping Victor's jaw.

"STOP BEING FRIENDLY GODDAMMIT!" Zsasz finally yelled, making the two jolt in surprise. "It's not natural" added the bald man while brushing his hands against his face, missing the shared glace between Oswald and Y/N and their synchronized shrug.

Their little bonding session and newfound friendship were only temporary, it was Gotham after all. Both knew it.

A/N - I hope you liked it! 🥰

[deepseavibez]

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Nerve || KNJ

If I believed you y/n, it would mean that someone could find happiness even with their heart miles away from them. 🥀

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Warning - Cheating(Aftermath); Negative Thoughts; Questionable Thoughts; Sadness; Pain; Crying; Pure Angst!

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Complete

Part 1 || Stalemate

Part 2 || Ellipsis

Part 3 || Unsalvageable

Part 3.5 - Trapped

Part 4 || Unanimous

Part 5 || Leashed

Part 5.5 - Reflection

Part 6 || Worthy

Part 7 || Slander

Part 7.5 - Declaration

Part 8 || Unsettled

Part 9 || Dependency

Part 10 - Prequel - Entangled

Part 10 || Becoming

Part 10.5 - Everlasting

Part 11 || Unintended

Part 12 || Amelioration

Part 12.5 - Immunity

Part 13 - Relinquish

Part 14.1 || Pretenses

Part 14.2 || Pretenses

Part 14.5 - Unparalleled

ANNOUNCEMENT - Break

Part 15 || Fractured

Part 16 || Reintroduction

Part 16.5 - Moonlight

Part 17.1 || Momentum

Part 17.2 || For-All-Time

Part 17.3 || Moonchild

Part 17.4 || Double-Edged

Part 17.5 - Wayward

Part 18 || Synergy

Part 18.5 - Blue-Side

Part 19 || Redemption

Part 20 - Prequel - Legacy

Part 20 || Turbulence

Part 20.2,3,4 - Firelight

Part 20.5 - Promise

Part 21 - Ever-logical

Character Asks

Part 21.5.1 - Vibe Check

Part 21.5.2 - Tightrope

Part 22 || Wavelike

Part 22.5 - Yami Y/n

Part 23 || Vindication

Part 23.5 - Crisscross

Part 24 || Fortification

Part 24.5 - Divide

Pre-25

Part 25.0 - Dissidence

Part 25.1 - Wildflower

Part 25.2 - Havoc

Part 25.3 - Cloak & Dagger

Part 25.4 - Killswitch

Part 25.5 - Cold-Blooded

Part 26 - Ascension

Part 26.5 - Mount Ever-rest

Part 27 - Bulletproof

Invitation

Part 28.0 - White Knight[s]

Part 28 || Forever Falling

Part 29 - Unravel [26 AUGUST 2022]

Part 29.5 - Retriggered [02 SEPT 2022]

Part 30 - Finale [N] [04 NOV 2022]

Part 30 - Finale [E] [05 NOV 2022]

Part 30 - Finale [R] [06 NOV 2022]

Part 30 - Finale [V] [11 NOV 2022]

Part 30 - Finale [E] [12 NOV 2022]

Epilogue [12 NOV 2022]

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[basilpaste]

too late its happening. i tried to not repeat artists and to like. mmmostly avoid Huge Internet Artists (so no mitski, phobe bridgers, will wood, mother mother, and similar likes)

a - american spirits, drumming bird

b - bitchboy, the oozes

c - cops / dogs, destructo disk

d - dumpster, penelope scott

e - el principito, ajj

f - ive changed f like five times now. fading kitten syndrome, roar

g - gallery piece, of montreal

h - hand over hand, roland faunte

i - if i were you id be throwing up, crywank

j - jacket over hoodie over shirt, kissyourfriends

k - kill the director, the wombats

l - lights off, ace of hearts

m - melt, lovepoint

n - neptune, sleeping at last

o - oats we sow, gregory and the hawk (bonus: overgrown garden, beetlebug)

p - persephone, sidney gish

q - queer as in fuck you, dog park dissidents

r - rule #3 - paperwork, fish in a birdcage

s - someone somewhere somehow, super whatevr

t - the room is filled with people who love you, foresight

u - up the wolves, the mountain goats

v - visitation of the ghost, the brobecks

w - wet, dazey and the scouts

x -

y - yr the best, carpetgarden

z-

i bailed. on x and z. i did my best.

experiencing the Illness. what if i made an a-z song rec list. what then.